Series Discussion SCF | ★★★ STARS ★★★ vs. lame sky flashes | TBL leads 3-2

[serp]

Hanley has been good filling in on that bottom pairing but he’s at best a 7th defender

There's plenty of teams around the league dressing worse defeseman on a regular basis because of size and all that. The big lumbering third pairing defenseman trope still exists even though it really shouldn't. Just dress a guy you can play for 10-15 minutes that doesn't f*** up and can handle the puck a bit. At this point i don't think you can play without mobile defenseman on any pairing anymore outside of some grizzled vets like Sekera who have enough experience that they can compensate with positioning.

 

[BigG44]

Anyone have a replay of that Joel Hanley block on Kucherov in OT? They didn't show the replay on NBC and it's not on any of the highlight vids...massive play just casually brushed aside as someone mentioned earlier. Idek how he blocked that it looked like a wide open lane for Kucherov

 

[DieselPig]

There's plenty of teams around the league dressing worse defeseman on a regular basis because of size and all that. The big lumbering third pairing defenseman trope still exists even though it really shouldn't. Just dress a guy you can play for 10-15 minutes that doesn't f*** up and can handel the puck a bit.

I’m not arguing that. When I say he’s a 7th defender I mean ideally that’s where I want him on the depth chart. He’s proven he can be a bottom pairing guy, but I still think you want someone a little better when filling out a cup contending roster.

 

[DieselPig]

Amazing effort by Hanley. Awesome play.

 

[serp]

I’m not arguing that. When I say he’s a 7th defender I mean ideally that’s where I want him on the depth chart. He’s proven he can be a bottom pairing guy, but I still think you want someone a little better when filling out a cup contending roster.

I'm just saying there's now a good chance a team would pick Hanley up on waivers if you try to sneak him onto an AHL roster.

 

[BigG44]

There's plenty of teams around the league dressing worse defeseman on a regular basis because of size and all that. The big lumbering third pairing defenseman trope still exists even though it really shouldn't. Just dress a guy you can play for 10-15 minutes that doesn't f*** up and can handle the puck a bit. At this point i don't think you can play without mobile defenseman on any pairing anymore outside of some grizzled vets like Sekera who have enough experience that they can compensate with positioning.

Shapiro is particularly pumping this idea as well. His play has seemed to pick up and get better the further the Stars advance. Stars were going to have to save money somewhere, and I imagine his play has solidified that will be on defense. I definitely feel less anxious about needing a more established veteran. Worst case scenario, you can add a decent 3rd pair D at the deadline for a 3rd round pick or later most years.

I feel like the no brainer move at this point on defense is to role with what you have ... do a hard sell on Bayreuther and/or Heatherington to not go test greener pastures to keep the depth solid. If they move on .. so be it. There's plenty of AHL/NHL tweeners who will take a 2-way deal.

 

[Magic Mittens]

Unless Johns will be able to play next season, even with Hanley we would still need another D. Whether they sign Sekera to another 1 year deal or Harley makes the team, but with Nill he won’t just hand him a spot

but I do agree that Hanley had earned a spot next year. We still have Fedun as a 7th D

 

[Kcb12345]

 

[LT]

I would rather see us sign a decent RHD to play with Harley than give Hanley a shot. Love him but he’s just too low on the depth chart.

 

[Kcb12345]

That puck had eyes for low on the blocker side...very likely it would have ended our season imo. Fantastic play

 

[serp]

I was super suprised Sekera somehow managed to get back into the game last night. The team clearly needed him to so the top 4 could get some more breathers but that looked very painful. If he can't play tomorow that'd be another penalty killer lost.

 

[DieselPig]

Lord help us if Sekera is out tomorrow. I thought he’s been steady and solid for us since first round. How can we possibly put out a Hanley and Fedun pairing without them being a huge liability

 

[DieselPig]

Also I found it interesting Bones said in post game conference yesterday that Dobby ASKED to have the net for game 5. I’m sure they were going with him anyway, but hearing how Dobby wanted it just shows how much of a battler that guy is. Love to see that from your tendy.

 

[Magic Mittens]

We seem to be losing a player to an injury every game now. Hopefully Sekera is able to play

Fedun - Hanley would be killer on my nerves lol

 

[kabidjan18]

Faksas hand must be seriously f***ed otherwise we would at least hear about him skating .

I said it a while back. Looks like he broke a finger. And I figured he'd be out. Because I broke a finger a year ago while wrestling and it took literally forever to heal, and I'm not old.

 

[kabidjan18]

There's plenty of teams around the league dressing worse defeseman on a regular basis because of size and all that. The big lumbering third pairing defenseman trope still exists even though it really shouldn't. Just dress a guy you can play for 10-15 minutes that doesn't f*** up and can handle the puck a bit. At this point i don't think you can play without mobile defenseman on any pairing anymore outside of some grizzled vets like Sekera who have enough experience that they can compensate with positioning.

There really aren't. And the ones that did, and had skill elsewhere on their team, did pretty well. The Stars were the tallest team in the league this past season so if anyone overvalues size it would be them. But Tampa ran Schenn and Bogosian all the way to a Stanley Cup Final until Rutta came back.

When you say "just get a guy that doesn't f*** up", like, that's not so easy. And I think it's easy to take it for granted as a fan of an elite defensive team. But that's part of what separates the mediocre teams from the elite teams. A 3rd pairing that can actually go out there and not get victimized. It's not as though when Chicago trots out Adam Boqvist and Slater Koekkoek or when Toronto trots out Travis Dermott and Justin Holl, or Caleb Jones and Matt Benning for Edmonton, or Jack Johnson and Justin Schultz in Pittsburgh, the list goes on. It's not as if those teams ran with "big lumbering third pairing" defensive defensemen. Take Jonas Seigenthaler on Washington for example. He was absolutely lit up in the playoffs. Great skater...the rest not so much.

The commonality with all these under-performing teams isn't a preference for hulking-stay-at-home defensemen. I think the teams that made it far into the playoffs had a lot of success signing veteran stay-at-home defensemen with a lot of experience to their third-pairings. The one outlier is Zach Whitecloud, who was arguably the best defensive defenseman in the playoffs, was a UFA discovery. But it does seem that these veteran blue-liners bring a lot to the table so long as they can keep things tidy in their own end.

 

[Rory]

Key for game 6. Throw the puck at the net. All shots are good shots. Some are great shots. But rebounds are the key to Dallas goals.

 

[BigG44]

Several Stars players get some love ...

 

[Zrhutch]

One takeaway from this run that I hope stays is that I hope we never hear Klingberg slander again. Idiotic take.

 

[M88K]

One takeaway from this run that I hope stays is that I hope we never hear Klingberg slander again. Idiotic take.

Yeah but also this is hockey and what has he done for me lately always rules

 

[BigG44]

I know this is two years away ... but I was really surprised the rumor is Boston is only offering Krug $6.5 million. I always saw him in a similar class as Klingberg who I assumed was going to be in the $8 to $9 million range in 2 years.

Klingberg hate will likely only intensify when he gets that deal.

I really liked seeing Klingberg and Heiskanen both on the top unit. I've said it in the thread for next season, but I think that's probably what will/should happen next season. Long-term, they could be lethal together. I'm hoping that both end up signing contracts that can fit within Dallas' cap situation. Heiskanen could sign as soon as October. Klinger could sign a deal in July. At least there will be some clarity in that situation soon.

 

[BrettHullsToe]

I really liked seeing Klingberg and Heiskanen both on the top unit. I've said it in the thread for next season, but I think that's probably what will/should happen next season.

This would be ideal if they also decide to leave Klingberg out for the 2nd unit. Not a huge fan of Lindell on the PP, especially with how much he PKs.

Hmm maybe they bring Harley up and let him do it.

 

[LT]

I know this is two years away ... but I was really surprised the rumor is Boston is only offering Krug $6.5 million. I always saw him in a similar class as Klingberg who I assumed was going to be in the $8 to $9 million range in 2 years.

Klingberg hate will likely only intensify when he gets that deal.

I really liked seeing Klingberg and Heiskanen both on the top unit. I've said it in the thread for next season, but I think that's probably what will/should happen next season. Long-term, they could be lethal together. I'm hoping that both end up signing contracts that can fit within Dallas' cap situation. Heiskanen could sign as soon as October. Klinger could sign a deal in July. At least there will be some clarity in that situation soon.

Harley will probably force their hand on that as well in the future. We’re going to have three defenders that we want on the PP so something is gonna have to give.

But I agree that I’d really like to see it tonight. These guys are playing enough for one or the other to take a 90+ second shift on a PP.

 

[BigG44]

 

[Henderson33]

Shocking.

Also is it a bad look to be happy he was the one playing with those injuries? At least we have a reason for why he looked so bad some nights.